Sutherland husband's fury at treatment of wife hit by TB
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THE husband of a Sutherland woman diagnosed with tuberculosis has said he is outraged that she was refused patient transport because of the risk of infection to others – but then left to make her own way home by public transport.
The 52-year-old woman, who lives in the Helmsdale area but does not want to be identified, was told she had the bacterial infection following tests at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness last week. She had complained of feeling run-down, with flu-like symptoms, including coughing.
It is the fourth case of tuberculosis to be identified in the Helmsdale area in recent weeks. In February health chiefs confirmed that a child attending the nursery at Helmsdale Primary School had TB and another two residents are also being treated for the illness.
NHS Highland began a TB screening programme of nursery children and staff at the primary school on Monday because of the cluster of cases. There are no plans to screen primary pupils at this stage.
The woman involved in the latest case attended an appointment at Raigmore last Thursday when she underwent an examination of her lungs.
She had arranged to spend the night at Kyle Court – accommodation located in the hospital grounds for patients from outlying areas undergoing treatment or investigation.
But just after midnight security staff unexpectedly arrived as she was in bed and escorted her back to the hospital.
Her husband said: "She was put into an isolation ward and was told by the consultant when he made his rounds at 8am on Friday that she had TB. She was told to get herself home and that medication would be sorted out."
Patient transport had already been booked but doctors cancelled it after explaining there was a risk that other vulnerable patients might pick up the airborne infection, which is spread by coughs and sneezes.
With the family car under repair and no other transport solution on offer, the woman had to take a taxi from Raigmore to Inverness railway station, where she waited for a train to Helmsdale. From there she had to make a further journey, finally arriving home three hours after leaving hospital.
Her husband, who has been told he will now need to be tested for TB, said: "The doctor explained to my wife she couldn’t share patient transport with other patients whose immune systems were possibly low.We understand that but we don’t understand why doctors did not arrange for her to go home by ambulance or hospital car and why they were so blasé about allowing her to go out into the general population and travel home by public transport.
"It is ridiculous for someone with TB to have to spend three hours in a taxi and train."
The husband has also hit out at health workers for a delay in the delivery of antibiotics for his wife’s condition.
He said they had been assured the medication would be at available for pick-up at their local surgery on Monday, but it did not arrive until Wednesday.
He said: "The medication finally turned up six days after her diagnosis – that is disgusting."
He is now considering making an official complaint to NHS Highland.
An NHS Highland spokesman said: "Without talking about individual cases we would not want someone who has TB to be in prolonged contact on patient transport in close proximity with other people who have just been discharged from hospital and are therefore potentially vulnerable.
"The risk to vulnerable people in such circumstances would be greater than any risk to other people travelling by public transport."
The spokesman added: "There are four confirmed cases of TB living in the Helmsdale area. They are all being treated at home with antibiotics and doing well. Tracing and screening of their close contacts is still ongoing and will continue for several more weeks."
